The court of Appeal sitting in Lagos on Sunday, set aside the ruling of the tribunal which nullified the election of Hon. Okey Mbah as the member representing Nkanu East constituency in Enugu state House of Assembly.
Journalist101 reports that the National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Enugu on September 29th, nullified the return of Hon. Okey Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP as the winner of the March 18 House of Assembly poll.
The three-man panel led by Honourable Justice Adie Attoe Onyebueke while delivering their judgment on the petition filed by Labour Party candidate, Surv. Okwudiri Nnaji, ordered a rerun in some polling units in Ugbawka and Owo wards.
The tribunal averred that the number of votes are higher than the number of registered and accredited voters in those areas and faulted the return by INEC.
It also ordered the electoral umpire, to conduct a rerun election in the affected polling units within 90 days.
Not satisfied with the ruling, Mbah headed to the Appeal Court to challenge the verdict of the tribunal.
In their ruling, the appellate court averred that the trial court erred in nullifying Mbah’s election and ordering a rerun in some polling units.
It also held that the issue of overvoting couldn’t be substantiated, thus, the appeal succeeded and the decision of the tribunal is set aside.
